Travelers say they want to book everything on one platform but don't do it

A 40-point chasm separates business travelers who say they prefer to book all travel through one platform and those who actually book on a central or corporate booking tool.

A study from travel and expense management provider KDS found 74% prefer a single channel, but only 34% followed through. That's fewer than the 37% who have booked corporate travel through supplier websites.

The discrepancy suggests that while travelers crave a single platform, they want that platform to be quality. "In order to drive compliance and adoption [of corporate booking tools], companies need to make sure the platform they are providing to employees offers at least the same convenience, user experience and choice of options that consumer-based services do," according to the report.

KDS surveyed 1,216 U.K. and U.S. business professionals in March. For those who booked directly with suppliers, 49% said convenience was a factor. About one-third cited a wider choice of travel content, and 14% named lower costs.

Almost half of those who booked policy-compliant business trips spent five to 20 minutes researching and booking each business trip, whether that's a flight and hotel or train and hotel. More than a third spent 20 minutes to one hour, and 8% spent longer.

The survey also found that 45% used an expense management tool, but a similar number, 41%, used spreadsheets. Of those, 47% spent 30 to 60 minutes per expense report, and 18% spent as much as two hours.

On the road, three-quarters of travelers kept receipts in one place like a wallet or envelope, 11% scanned or logged them online throughout the trip and 15%, ending up with receipts in multiple places.

Twenty-two percent rounded up between one and 10 miles for mileage reimbursement, and 24% inflate taxi receipts.